I think I’ve said this before, but this might be my favorite month so far. It’s amazing to see Addy starting to communicate with us through her sign language. She uses very exaggerated and dramatic signs to tell us “more” and “all done!” Addy is still very curious. She loves opening and closing things, exploring, and getting into everything, including off-limits items like toilet paper, magazines, plants, and Mommy’s cooking booklets. Even though she gets into a little mischief and is definitely a high-energy kid, I am looking forward to celebrating my sweet Adelline’s first birthday and appreciating the fact that this year, I am not in labor and giving birth!
Thanks to Daddy, Addy has learned how to stack up the pillows in the living room to create a step stool up to the couch. Her initial few attempts at getting down involved face-first dives to the floor. We’ve since learned to lower ourselves feet first!
Grandma Vicky and Grandpa Mark conveniently purchased several “birthday” items that just happened to find their way to our house. They were appalled that Mommy and Daddy were not going to have a big birthday party for Addy. Now we have “princess” blowers, window cut-outs, a birthday shirt, and a birthday book to help us get prepared for the special day.
Addy is a “social eater.” Mommy and Daddy cannot eat anything in front of her without sharing.
Addy loves taking cover or caps off things and putting them back on. Her favorites include the bubbles container, vaseline, tupperware, boxes, and kettles.
Addy is responding to a lot of different directives now. When asked, she will brush her hair, get her blocks, throw a ball, laugh, turn the light on, snuggle with her blanket, read books, turn pages, and give kisses.
Addy’s new “laugh” is a cough-like cackle that is often directed toward Daddy. It also seems to be most popular right before bedtime when Mommy is trying to keep things calm.
When everyone started arriving for Daddy’s Surprise Pirate Birthday Party, Addy kept crawling in circles while stopping occasionally to laugh loudly.
Taking things out of Mommy’s purse is the first form of entertainment. This is followed by removing all papers and magnets from the refrigerator. Then it’s on to the snack cabinet next to the oven. Finally, the water filters and pots are removed from their cupboard. The tornado-like debris that remains is all in a day of Addy’s work!
Addy loves “lift-the-flap” books. Mommy found a couple of larger ones at the Dane County Fair. We’ll have lots of flaps to lift and things to learn about life on the farm and Spanish!
Addy will stand for a few seconds on her own and walk holding one adult hand. She’s still a bit hesitant to let go.
Addy enjoys being held by Daddy and directing him where to go through exaggerated arm movements, usually accompanied by a “huh.” Daddy has started to realize that Addy is not really interested in hanging out with him; he is merely a mode of transportation to all the things she can’t reach!
Addy has graduated to most table food. We continue to serve “super porridge” in the morning, which usually includes a cooked whole grain (quinoa, brown rice, oatmeal, barley, or millet) with dry beans or tofu, ground flax or brewer’s yeast, a spice, and a pureed fruit or vegetable. We also give iron drops and offer a finger food such as prunes, bananas, or other fruit. Lunch consists of an egg yolk every other day, pureed vegetables, and a grain finger food such as whole wheat bread, cereal, or crackers. Dinner features yogurt and nuts, tahini, cheese every other day, and whatever fruits or vegetables are being eaten by Mommy and Daddy. Addy’s favorite foods are prunes, cheese, watermelon, cantaloupe, sweet corn strips off the cob, sweet potato fries, spicy Texas caviar, whole wheat tortillas, avocados, bananas, cherries, applesauce, Mum Mums, O’s, and yogurt.
Addy enjoys looking out the living room window, trying to play with the plants and dirt, petting the wooden snake, jumping, playing with the strings from the blinds, waving to people and dogs, and rolling around on the pillows.
Addy’s bedtime routine now includes a period of rolling around on the rug while periodically burying her face in blankets and pillows.
Addy signed “milk,” and after offering many foods at dinner, Mommy finally realized she was asking for her sippy cup filled with milk.
When Addy is asked to show how much she loves Mommy, she tips her head and snuggles into her shoulder.
Addy took her first unassisted steps at Grandma Gretchen and Grandpa Bob’s house moving between Mommy and the chair.
Addy “Skyped” with Grandma Vicky, Grandpa Mark, Aunt Lyddia, and Aunt Britty through the internet. They were excited to see Addy on the computer screen.
Addy is very interested in books and reading. She holds up books when she wants you to read them to her. “Moo, Baa, La La La” by Sandra Boynton is a favorite that she calls, “La La La,” as she begs you to read it. When we read “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?,” Addy growls like a bear.
Addy loves Mum Mums. She knows where they are stored and starts laughing hysterically when Mommy asks her if she wants a Mum Mum and starts to reach into the cabinet.
Mommy and Daddy are counting their blessings. Addy is FINALLY sleeping through the night from 8 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. most days. Ahhhh, sweet sleep!
Addy is an active girl during church. Her main activities now include handing books to people around her, squirming, jabbering, trying to walk/crawl out of the pew, laughing, trying to go through Mommy’s purse, jumping, and eating Mum Mums when Mommy and Daddy finally give up. Addy likes the music, but her attention span is approximately three seconds!
Addy officially walked on her own without prompting on August 12, 2011, two days before her first birthday!
Addy loves emptying Daddy’s wallet of all his ID cards and money. We have started to find things stashed in various places around the house, such as ID cards behind the cookbooks. When we went over to our neighbor’s garage sale and tried to pay for our items, we discovered that Addy had emptied all the cash out of Daddy’s wallet. Daddy had to run home and find some money.
Addy likes to stuff ten pieces of watermelon in her mouth at one time and then sign “more” as her cheeks are puffed out with food.
When Eli visited for the first time in several months, Addy shared all her toys very nicely, petted Eli on the head, and tried to give him kisses. Eli is a pretty mellow kid who is content to play while Addy is the hurricane that rotates around him. Eli’s mom joked, “I hope Addy doesn’t get kicked out of daycare this year!”
Addy and Daddy have a new game called “rocket.” Daddy positions Addy with her body sideways and head pointed forward. He then runs as fast as he can down the hallway while Addy laughs.
Addy signs “all done” when she is finished, but just in case we didn’t catch it, she also starts throwing food. She has a great over-the-shoulder, no-look throw that gets Mommy every time!
Addy has a lot of conversations that involve gibberish and random pointing.
When we ask Addy to “use her words,” she signs what she wants. All those months of teaching with no reaction are finally paying off.
As we approach our neighborhood park, Addy starts talking very loudly, pointing, and trying to get out of her stroller or wagon.
Getting professional pictures taken with Addy is always an adventure. For her one-year photos, we decided to try three different outfits. We thought Addy might need a “warm-up” before she started smiling, so we began with a “starter outfit.” That was our first mistake, as the first five shots were the only smiling pictures of the session. It went downhill from there, as Addy was much more interested in playing with the props, trying to crawl away, wriggling off the chair, and reaching for things with her tongue sticking out. Luckily, Daddy is very nonchalant about pictures, while Mommy tends to get a little stressed out. We did manage to pick out some really cute shots, and it certainly makes choosing much easier when there are only eight decent pictures out of the whole session. We’ll have to try the toy train and overalls for Addy’s two-year-old pictures!
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